Michael
"The dude's like twenty. He can sense pretty girls." - Jared Michael is the One of Many Faces' first multiclass (prestige, technically) character, built around a homebrew class created by Kevin. He represents the One's appreciation for both natural and artificial beauty, present in the heavens, the earth, people, and the things they craft. Michael Played By The One of Many Faces Race Human Class Cleric/Reaper Alignment True Neutral Status Alive Favored Weapon Sickles Favored Spell Turn Undead Appearance At 6'3" and 180 pounds, Michael is tall and somewhat muscular at 23 years since birth. He has thick, wavy brown hair so dark it is almost black that he wears in a ponytail that hangs down to his waist. Dark brown eyes sit in a tan face. His complexion is natural, as said face is no tanner than the rest of his body which rarely sees sun. Being a cleric who grew up with other clerics, none of his wounds were left unhealed long enough to scar. He wears black hooded robes, under which he wears black pants, black boots, and a black long-sleeved shirt. Between the shirt and the robes hides a breastplate of black metal. Though he is not proficient with his scythe, he carries it on his back as a symbol of being a Reaper. He has multiple copies of his clerical holy symbol: one dangling from the handle of each sickle and the scythe and one embedded in the top of his breastplate. Though Reapers have masks as another symbol, he almost never wears his. Back Story Michael was born to a couple named Robert and Jacinta in a small, close group of Reapers comprised of his parents, his uncle, another couple, and a woman and her daughter. The group functioned as a family and raised the children as their own. Both children were taught the Reaper way of life but kept out of combat during their early years. Whenever the group engaged in battle, one would stay behind and watch the children while the others fought. Once such encounter went horribly wrong. Robert was turned into an undead; Jacinta had to put down her husband. It was the worst moment in her life, and she changed dramatically in response. Becoming a tyrant in a previously equal group, she forbade love/attachment, citing it as a distraction and a weakness that would prevent them from doing their duty. Hence, she cast the other couple out. The uncle, appalled at her behavior in response to his brother's death, left with them. Michael was just old enough to later remember them, his father, and the person his mother was before. Other Reapers joined and left as time went on, eventually resulting in a steady nucleus of the two mothers, two children, and three others - all single due to Jacinta's rule. Michael learned to fight with sickles and grew into a cleric, taught the ways of positive energy, healing, and the sun, all being detrimental to undead creatures. Despite the prohibitions, he also grew to like girls. When his mother realized this, she sought to cast out the other child in the group so she would not make him vulnerable. The girl's mother, having had enough of this madness, left in a fury with her child. Jacinta was wrong, anyway; no romance would have developed between them due to the Westermarck effect. The children lost their best friends due to her erroneous thinking. Shortly after, Jacinta found another method to try to hinder her son's romantic development. After eliminating a necromancer, they found his daughter, Morrigan. She had been sired for his plan and kidnapped when the time came to enact said plan, and her mother had been killed. Michael begged the group to take care of her; she needed someone and hated necromancy as much as they did. At first, his mother resisted, but they took her to safety anyway. As Morrigan calmed down, Jacinta noticed that she was not what she had expected. Knowing that Michael would likely be attracted to her but that she would reject him, Jacinta agreed to let her stay, hoping the rejection would dissuade Michael from such pursuits in the future. Thus, Michael and Morrigan became fast friends. Of course he liked her. She was a close companion and a pretty one at that. However, he feared to show it, given his mother. Under these conditions, he learned a bit about socializing with a girl with which he had not grown up while publicly maintaining a platonic appearance. When they were finally alone one day, he told her only for her to explain her lack of reciprocation. Though wounded, he accepted this and remained good friends with her - better friends when she offered to help him out as his wingman whenever Jacinta was not around. With her help, he eventually learned how to charm those who would be charmed. One of these was a certain purple-haired dancer, who taught him a few more things about romance. Though he was not able to form a relationship with her or anyone else due to his nomadic and tyrant-monitored lifestyle, he enjoyed female company as much as possible, even if only close proximity or a flirtatious conversation. One day, Morrigan announced her intention to leave the Reapers in search of a purpose more suited to life. This prompted Michael to evaluate his life under his mother's tyranny. Unsurprisingly, he realized it was not for him. He knew his mother would not take kindly to him telling her he wanted to leave and decided to make his departure as easy as possible. Stealing a few holy symbols, a mask, and her codex on the Reapers, he planted a note to his mother. He claimed that he was following a lead on a ghost ship haunting a nearby sea, and that the group should back him up when they could. He headed in the opposite direction, hoping they would think he had been defeated in battle or drowned in victory when they could not find him. Traveling as a free man, he severed his connection to his family by forsaking his surname. However, he maintained his beliefs and continued training until he was ready to dedicate himself as a full Reaper. This he did, purchasing a scythe to carry symbolically. Though his first duty remained to Keidwal, the Reapers' deity, he also pursued his own goals and pleasures. He began taking odd jobs unrelated to eliminating necromancy to fund both traveling across countries and staying awhile in interesting places. Of course, he also spent more time with women. Involvement to be added Personality True neutral Michael does not have many strong personality traits. One of his weaknesses is how malleable he is. However, he is remarkably dedicated to his religion and to the people that matter to him. His love of beauty manifests most in his favorite pastimes: stargazing and crafting. He knows the constellations well, from their seasons to their stories to the stars that make them up. Clay and wire are his preferred mediums for crafting small artworks, such as jewelry. He often combines both loves by putting star designs into his crafts. This can also be combined with his love for a third beauty: he may give handcrafted gifts to the women with which he is (or wishes to be) in a relationship. Beliefs A Reaper of Keidwal, Michael hates anything that goes against the flow of death. False life and the return of a soul from death are deplored. He will purge any undead and stop any necromancer he encounters. Outside of his religion, he has a relaxed view of the world. His only "rules" are to treat his romantic interests with the level of respect they desire and to do right by the people to which he is beholden. Fighting Style Michael fights in "circles" - his strikes curve, his dodges spin, and he redirects the momentum of the hits he takes. Even his weapons - his preferred sickles and his symbolic scythe - are rounded. Having been raised in a group of Reapers and trained not to rely on anyone, he can fight alone or around allies to maximum efficiency. His cleric domains are sun and healing, and he channels positive energy. These were specifically chosen to make him more potent against undead, but he can use this to harm other enemies and help allies. Relationships with Other Characters Michael is a chill fellow. Thus, he works easily with other people but does not generally grow attached. Two conditions sway him from ambivalence when interacting with others: he despises anyone that has anything to do with necromancy and likes (until dissuaded) any female. The former outweighs the latter. Morrigan: Encountered by Michael's group during a mission to eliminate her necromancer father, Morrigan was his best friend, wingman, and unrequited crush as an adolescent. Michael "convinced" his fellow Reapers to take care of her when they found her. They trained together, had each others' backs on missions, and supported each other in less life-threatening pursuits. Morrigan's decision to leave the group inspired Michael to consider, and eventually do, the same. He has not seen her for a few years. Phoebe Lux Baldwin: A dancer Michael liked, Phoebe Lux taught him a few things about romance. Though he only knew her briefly years ago, he remembers her fondly. Theo Godbrand '''and Pytir Koidyn: A blood-thirsty bard and a pacifistic healer Michael meets during the Darkness QS. The bard's disrespect for death and the healer's refusal to fight earn some irritation for both of them. Being the hardest hitter of three support characters, Michael becomes the strategist and also the elderly-healer-carrier. '''Selta Merthon, Karas Arcus, '''and Johannes': Michael wakes up outside a castle alongside a cute ranger, an angry binder, and a naked wrestler during a QS. While avoiding looking at Johannes and mollifying Karas with an occasional phrase spoken in dwarvish, he tries to charm Selta, treating her to dinner during their quest. He finds Selta's conversation enjoyable, Karas's harshness unsavory, and Johannes's nakedness awkward. 'Sonrisa Day''': They will meet and become good friends. Just noting this for now. Appears In * Darkness QS * Order or Chaos QS Category:Player Characters Category:ManyFacedOne